Joe Vitt uneasy after Drew Brees takes some hits

Posted by Michael David Smith on August 18, 2012, 7:15 AM EDT

AP

For the Saints, a rough offseason would get a whole lot worse if quarterback Drew Brees went down with an injury. So Saints coach Joe Vitt wasn’t pleased when he saw Brees shaken up on Friday night against the Jaguars.

The biggest hit Brees took came after Saints tight end Jimmy Graham missed a block on Jaguars defensive end Jeremy Mincey, and Mincey got a direct shot on Brees, hitting him on his throwing hand and shoulder, forcing a fumble. Mincey said the Saints’ offense gave him a direct shot on the play.

“I was just watching what they were doing on offense and one guy shifted out, so I made an inside move on Jimmy Graham and took the quickest path to the quarterback,” Mincey said.

Brees returned to the game after that hit, and he marched the Saints down the field with six straight completions on a drive that ended with a touchdown pass. So he bounced back from that hit just fine.

But Vitt would prefer not to see his franchise quarterbacks take any more hits like that in the preseason.

24 responses to “Joe Vitt uneasy after Drew Brees takes some hits”

Is it me or are offensive lines in general really struggling this preseason? I would expect SOME struggles due to the nature of OL in general because they get better as they play more as a unit, but this has been a real “come on, man” so far.

And the pressure was applied by one of the worst teams in the NFL (ranked #30 by PFT), a team “in disarray” , and a team in which the head coach has lost touch with his locker room…many media member’s questioned if the Jaguars were even going to be able to field a team this season!

What kind of pressure will Brees’ get when the Saints play an average to good team?

Get use to excuses from the Saints, maybe the Jags just actually performed at a higher level then the Saints…better yet they finally have a legitimate pash rush with Branch and Mincey. Again get use to excuses why the Saints won’t be as good this year.

I was one saying the ref situation couldn’t be any worse with the replacements, man was I wrong. They are lucky this was a preseason game, the sheer amount of terrible calls was disturbing. From a missed fumble on lance Moore, the phantom PI call on 4th down with the ball waaaay over the head of a reciever, the questionable Henderson TD to the reversed interception and that’s just the main ones. If this were reg season they single handedly would’ve cost them the win, that’s the story here.

Branch looked real good last night. Looks like a great pick for the Jags. The refs on the other hand… Well awful doesn’t even begin to describe them. Way too many 5min delays while refs figured the call out. Ridiculous.

The browns swept the preseason last year and pooped the bed for the regular season yea the saints and packers should be worried bout the preseason. Wait till the regular season to pass judgement and the jags were playin like they were tryna get into the playoffs and the saints was playing like it was the preseason we were rushing 3 to sharpen our blitz happy defense from last year.

If you don’t have a clue about what is going on in the NFL, please do not post. 1. The Saints have played 3 games because they were in the HOF game. 2. Vitt’s suspension begins at the start of the regular season. 3. I believe the season the Lions were 0-16, they were 4-0 preseason. The Saints and Pack will be just fine.